Pictured: Eric Johnson, man accused of shooting student Sara Mutschlechner to death

U.S. Marshals have arrested a man for the shooting death of a UNT student on New Year’s Eve.

Eric Jamal Johnson, 20, was taken into custody Tuesday moing in Yuma, Arizona. The U.S. Marines confirmed he is an administration specialist who was reporting for work at the Yuma Air Station when he was arrested.

The victim, 20-year-old Sara Mutschlechner, was driving friends home from a New Year’s Eve party when passengers in her car exchanged words with five or six young men in an SUV.

Pictured: Cpl Eric Johnson, was arrested at his air base in Yuma, Arizona, on Tuesday moing on suspicion of shooting dead Sara Mutschlechner. The 20-year-old is of Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-1

 

Sara Mutschlechner, a 20-year-old junior at the University of North Texas and philanthropy chair of her sisterhood, was shot dead in the early hours of New Year's Day as she drove friends home from a party

Denton Police Department spokesman Shane Kizer described the exchange as friendly at first. But then he said the men in the SUV started making lewd and inappropriate comments directed toward Mutschlechner and her friend.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, a witness said the driver displayed a handgun and threated to shoot. Shortly afterward he opened fire on the car and Mutschlechner was struck, causing her to crash into a utility pole.

Kizer said the witnesses in Mutschlechner car recognized some of the men in the SUV from the party. They were able to provide police with descriptions of the suspects.

Investigators talked to several people who attended the party and were able to use photos and posts on social media to come up with the street names of several people believed to be in the SUV.

The affidavit said investigators found photos from the night of the party showing Johnson, who goes by “Santana Sage.” He was wearing clothes that matched the suspect’s description and driving an SUV similar to the one caught on surveillance video near the crime scene.

Additional photos on social media gave investigators the license plate number for Johnson’s 2007 Honda Pilot. From there they were able to track him down.

Police have not gone so far to say he was the shooter, but said witnesses saw him holding the handgun in the SUV. Investigators have talked to and still want to talk to several other persons of interest, Kizer said.

Mutschlechner was a junior at UNT where she studied radio, television and film. She was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.

Her parents took her off life support after donating her organs. They said they wanted to focus on her legacy despite her senseless and tragic death.